Mist In The Jungle
by SideshowJazz1
Summary: "Jungle Book"-based. A twenty-fourth century girl is dropped in the Indian jungle on her own, due to a time machine malfunction. She must learn to survive. When she meets a jungle-raised boy, she must connect with him to protect herself. Possible Mowgli/OC. Please read and review, I love getting feedback.
1. Prologue: Time Machine Malfunction

**A/N: I don't know where I got this idea. I really don't. Well, maybe it was that Disneycember thing...anyway, this is mostly "Jungle Book"-based. A girl from the twenty-fourth century is using the new technology to discover the Indian jungle. However, the machine drops her in the wrong time, and now she's living in the jungle. And yes, this will probably be Mowgli/OC. I'll try not to make him too annoying.**

**Note: Mowgli is thirteen in this story.**

**Disclaimer: I own the idea. I own Misty, and any other OCs that pop up. Everything else goes to the Walt Disney studios.**

**Now, please read and review!**

Misty Tallulah Nona looked at the futuristic contraption in front of her. Her look was wary, almost nervous, as if it could pull her in and kill her. After all, if it didn't work, she was sure it would.

"Misty." The thirteen-year-old turned to look at her brother and father. Her mother hadn't been able to get any leave for work, and so the three members of the so-called "nuclear family" had come to India without that one member. It was her father who had spoken

Misty turned to face her family. Seventeen-year-old Jacob raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you going to go in?" he asked. "Come on, sis. It's the twenty-fourth century. Don't you want to see what the world used to be like? This is supposed to be a trip to the jungle, and all we've done so far is stand in front of the time machine, waiting for you to go first. Stop waiting around!"

Misty hated it when her brother talked to her that way, but it worked. "Fine." she muttered. "I'm going in. If the thing kills me, or gets me stranded in the wrong time..." she said pointedly. She didn't know if the new technology for the time machine would really work (even though she'd heard it was 90% fail safe), but she hoped. This trip would either be awesome...or a major disaster.

But quickly, Misty blocked her mind from her fears, rushed into the time machine, set the dial to the correct year, and slipped her backpack on, which was full of survival essentials. She was going back to the time when there was a tangle of trees and shrubs, and wild animals...a real jungle in the place where she now stood. _"1967, I think they said." _Misty thought. She pressed the button to start the machine quickly, and closed her eyes, stepping into the glass port. The machine gave a jolt, and the portal disconnected, ready to take Misty to her destination. Once it dropped her in the right time and left, it was meant to come back in two weeks to take her back.

When Misty opened her eyes, she was gliding past the time periods in the portal. Everything was so strange and new to her. History flickered by, technology waning in every vision as she went further and further back. She was still in India, and she couldn't help feeling shocked at the twenty-first century poverty as she passed it. But finally, the time tunnel reached the right time and place, and she landed straight in a shrub.

Misty stood back up, pulling twigs out of her thick brown hair, which she quickly tied back into a ponytail, muttering "Stupid bush." Then she stood, waiting for Jacob and her father to come.

Ten minutes went by. Twenty. Half an hour. After forty-five minutes, Misty was ready to die of boredom. But, to tell the truth, she was more scared than bored. After all, she had been wary of the time machine right from the start.

"_Something went wrong." _she thought, immediately assuming the worst case scenario. "_I'm in the wrong time, or they are. The time machine didn't work. This can't be happening!"_

But no matter how much Misty worried about her family, the same thoughts invaded her mind. Her father had most of the materials that would protect her family. She would be able to survive on her own, but if a dangerous animal attacked her, it would all be over. "_I'm in a jungle, in the twentieth century, completely unprotected." _Her muscles became rigid in fear. "_What if a tiger or a snake comes? Or wolves? Or a bear?" _Her mind refused to stop repeating dangerous animals. "_A panther? Or a rhino, a buffalo, Or...are there alligators or crocodiles? Even an elephant could walk right over me and crush me!"_

Misty couldn't possibly think straight. When there was a rustle in the tree above her, it took all her strength not to scream, although she was able to relax a tiny bit when she saw it was just some species of parrot.

But it didn't change the fact that Misty was alone and vulnerable. The moist warmth of the jungle was already becoming unbearable, and anything could come along and kill her.

Finally, the sun began to set, and the jungle cooled. The young girl opened her backpack, brought out her sleeping bag, and covered herself completely, with her backpack underneath the covers too. She had food, water, and instructions on how to make water she would refill drink and what plants were safe to eat, and losing it would make her situation

Misty's only hope was that tomorrow, she'd be able to survive, or find a way back to her own century. Even with the time machine still in the twenty fourth, she should be out of the jungle in two weeks. For now, Misty tried to get some sleep, just hoping and praying that her life would stay intact.

**I know this was short, but we'll get into the story. I'm sorry it's starting off so slowly, but it'll get better, I promise. Misty won't be a Mary-Sue, but already, she has the tendency to be pessimistic and panic. Anyway, please review and give me feedback!**


	2. Chapter 1: Feral Child

**OK. Let's continue, I guess. Thanks for your reviews, SerenityMoonPrincess and Daydreamer747.**

A crack of light filtered through the sheets, waking Misty. She was very relieved to still be alive, and her natural pessimism had lightened up the tiniest bit.

"It's a good thing I prepared for this." she murmured out loud. "But if I remember history class right, there should be a colonial village around here. All I need to do is find it, and stay there. Good thing I learned a couple of Hindu phrases."

She packed up everything, and then began to walk in the place where there seemed to be less trees. That way, she wouldn't have to battle her way through the homes of tree snakes.

However, Misty began to panic all over again when there was a ground tremor. "_Earthquake?" _was her first thought. The tremors continued, but then Misty heard a trumpeting sound, and she half-relaxed, realizing that the tremors must have been from multiple elephants. She began to walk nearer, her eyes still flickering around. After all, coming to the jungle was for a reason – seeing the wildlife that weren't there in her century.

Finally, she came to a stop, when she saw a single file line of elephants walking along in sync in the near distance. The one in front suddenly came to a stop, and Misty watched as he picked up a baby elephant, and felt the tremor as all the other elephants crashed straight into him.

Misty crept nearer, and soon, she heard a voice that wasn't as animalistic as she expected, laughing. Her curiosity got the better of her. Finally, she was able to look out from behind a tree, which she checked was wildlife free. To her utter surprise, she saw that the laughing had come from a boy of about her age. He was dark-skinned, with unkempt dark hair, and he only wore a flimsy piece of cloth. Misty could see that he was pretty toned and had muscles – certainly more so than most of the boys in her own century. She would have gone out to speak to him, if he hadn't been standing next to a black panther, who turned and walked away in a different direction to Misty. The boy followed him, calling out something in an animalistic language Misty couldn't understand.

Misty gasped when the panther answered the boy by growling, and the boy grabbed onto a tree. The panther tried to pull the boy off with its teeth, but it ended up falling into the nearby river, and seemed to get bored and left. The "_He's a feral child!" _Misty realized. "_One of those kids I read about who gets raised by some kind of animal!" _She observed as the boy went to sit down, leaning against a stone, staring down moodily. He seemed to be more human than Misty expected, walking and positioning himself the same way she would.

Misty tried to make sense of the boy. "_He seemed to be arguing with the panther. The panther wanted to take him somewhere – that's why he was pulling at the boy. But they seemed to know each other. The panther gave up on him...it seemed like he was almost like a guardian."_

Misty decided to take a chance. She stepped out from the trees and sat down a distance away from the boy. The boy didn't even look at her, barely noticing.

A few minutes passed. Misty copied the boy's posture, her knees drawn up nearly to her chin. Then she heard a noise, and shot to her feet. The boy looked up, his eyes flickering around to where the sound had come from.

Misty saw the source of the footsteps first, and sat down, curling up small, hoping not to be noticed.

A bear practically skipped onto the scene, making a noise that Misty identified as humming, or even singing. She didn't dare move, sure that the bear noticing her would have tragic results.

The bear was practically attempting to moonwalk, and then stopped in mid-step, looking at the boy, and then seeing Misty. Misty scrunched up smaller, but the boy jabbed him in the nose and snapped something in a voice similar to the bear.

That was the moment when he noticed Misty, and turned to look at her. He only stopped when the bear obviously said something that caught his attention, and he turned his back on both her and the bear, saying something else that conveyed that he obviously didn't want any more attention from the bear.

Misty decided to stop observing. The bear hadn't done much at all, apart from commenting in bear language about them. She stood and then lightly touched the boy on the shoulder. The boy flinched, but turned to look at her again. This time, he blinked, and then stared. Misty could tell he'd never seen a girl before.

"Um...hi." Misty said, trying to convey what she was saying by waving.

The boy snapped out of it, and then said something similar to what he just said, this time to both her and the bear.

The bear said something, and the boy got up and began punching him.

Misty simply observed all of this, as the bear appeared to be trying teach the feral boy...kickboxing? Suddenly, the bear stopped, looked at Misty and said something.

Misty sighed. She had no idea what he was saying, and tried to signal this by shaking her head. The bear sighed too, and then repeated it, and the penny suddenly dropped.

"Do you want me to come and learn to fight too?" Misty asked, making gestures. The bear appeared to smile, and then nod. She stood back while the boy had a try at doing a frightening roar, when all he did was growl meekly. At least, that was how Misty saw it.

She smiled to herself, thinking she could do better. She got the bear's attention, and then screamed in the huskiest voice she could.

The bear turned back to the boy and pointed to her, and then roared, louder and more menacing than Misty had. Then he continued to teach both kids how to fight, although he did knock both of them flying at one point.

It hit Misty that she was actually enjoying learning to fight with a bear and a feral boy who she couldn't even talk to!

After the fighting, the bear began a song and dance number, which the boy joined in with. The panther also came back, and, like the bear, seemed harmless to Misty. In fact, he seemed disconcerted by Misty's appearance.

While the bear was distracted about something else – scratching, it seemed – Misty went to the boy and tried to talk. The boy looked at her and asked something in animal language. Misty shook her head, saying "I don't understand."

The boy repeated her words, looking confused. Misty sighed, and asked, "Name?" pointing at him to get her message across.

The boy seemed to understand, as he pointed at himself, and answered in a voice which still had an animalistic sound to it. "Mowgli."

Misty smiled. "_I like that name." _she thought. She started to daydream. Maybe she could start teaching this Mowgli boy English. Maybe he'd help her to survive, if she befriended him. After all, if he'd lived in the jungle for thirteen years (since he was about her age), he should know how to survive in there...shouldn't he?

**Misty doesn't know how wrong she is. She'll try to talk to Mowgli in the next chapter, promise. Please review!**


	3. Chapter 2: Girl-Cub

**Next chapter up! So this is what happens next...oh, and this time, the chapter is from Mowgli's perspective, not Misty's.**

Mowgli looked at this girl. She pointed at herself and said "Misty."

He understood that that was what her name was, but he still didn't understand her. He'd never seen another human before. "_Misty. That's a pretty name." _he thought. He wondered why she seemed so shy. When Baloo had decided to start teaching Mowgli to fight, Misty hadn't even moved until he personally addressed her. She'd said some words before she moved – what were they? "_Do you want me to come and learn to fight too?" _Mowgli didn't understand the words, but he knew that Misty was asking Baloo if he wanted her to learn to fight, just like he was. Was she not like him? Was she from the "man village" Bagheera wanted to take him back to? Was she here to take him back? No, she couldn't be. She obviously had no idea who he was, so she couldn't be here to take him back.

After the scratching session was over, Baloo slipped into the river, floating happily. Mowgli went to join him, when he looked back at Misty, who seemed to have no idea what to do.

Mowgli took pity, and grabbed her wrist. "Come on!" he said in the most similar language he knew to her one – monkey language. They both slipped down the rock, and landed on Baloo's stomach, Mowgli helping Misty up. She looked nervous, and looked back down at the water.

Mowgli caught her looking. "Don't." he said, and this time, she seemed to understand the word. She nodded, still looking shy. Somehow, he felt a need to protect this girl, who seemed so clueless. He'd never felt this way about anyone before, but he acted on it anyway.

"Let me tell you two something." Baloo was saying. Misty obviously didn't understand. "If you act like that bee over there-" the black bear gestured – "Uh-uh. You're working too hard. And don't spend your time looking around for something you want, that can't be found." He pulled himself upright, letting Mowgli and Misty fall into the water. Mowgli reached out and grabbed Misty's hand, sure that she wouldn't be as comfortable in the water as he was.

"_When you find out you can live without it, then go along not thinking about it_

_I'll tell you something true." _Baloo sang, sliding down a small waterfall. Mowgli followed, dragging Misty with him.

"_The bare necessities of life will come to you."_

Mowgli didn't even notice Bagheera leaving, as he and Misty climbed up on Baloo again. Mowgli kept a hold on Misty's hand – well, she was clinging to it too, obviously accepting that she would need to stick with them to survive.

"Mowgli, and – what's your name?" Baloo asked Misty. She simply shook her head again.

"She doesn't understand our language, apart from gestures." Mowgli told him. "But her name's Misty."

It was obvious that Misty seemed to understand what Mowgli was saying.

"Well, Mowgli and Misty, why don't you sing it?" Baloo said. "She can gesture."

"I'll try to tell her." Mowgli said, and translated as best he could. Misty mimed singing, and Mowgli nodded.

All three of them began singing. Misty was just singing the sounds, but Baloo and Mowgli knew exactly what they were saying, although Mowgli was still too naïve to understand the implications of: "_Look for the bare necessities, the simple bare necessities,_

_Forget about your worries and your strife."_

"Yeah, man!" Mowgli added.

"_I mean the bare necessities, that's why a bear can rest at ease_

_With just the bare necessities of life._

_With just the bare necessities of life."_

"Yeah, man!" Mowgli finished again.

Misty giggled at the exclamation and smiled at both of the jungle residents.

"Beautiful." Baloo remarked. "That's real jungle harmony."

"I like being a bear." Mowgli answered. He really did feel at home. Bagheera might call it irresponsible, but Mowgli called it fun.

"You're gonna make one swell bear." Baloo said peacefully. "And once she learns the language, she will too. Why, both of you even sing like one!"

Mowgli tried his best to tell Misty that in monkey-language. Misty seemed to half understand. She looked unsure, but Mowgli's gesture to Baloo and mime singing should have gotten the message across.

Suddenly, a squeal came from Misty, but before Mowgli could look over, he was grasped by the arms and hauled into the trees above. It wasn't until Baloo opened his eyes that he realized that the two young teenagers – only kids, really – had been replaced by two monkeys.

"Hey, let go of me!" Mowgli yelled. Misty simply screamed in anger and fear. The monkeys were strong, but their grip on her was careless, and they could drop her at any point.

But on the other hand, their language was easier to understand. Because humans had evolved from monkeys, Misty didn't have to ask questions, and although she couldn't understand every word, she knew that the monkeys were taunting Baloo as he tried to get Misty and Mowgli back. She even understood it when they were saying something about "a bear resting" and "bare nessie" or something like that.

But she was starting to feel sick when they continued to toss her around. Mowgli had a stronger stomach and could deal, but as the monkeys finally quit playing around and scampered off with her and Mowgli hanging, a few drops of yellow fluid fell onto the jungle floor from Misty's mouth.

Mowgli, although helpless himself, still had the strange protective feeling he had about Misty. "Let go of both of us!" he started yelling. But the monkeys ignored him. They continued to swing through the trees, two to each of them.

Mowgli heard one of them saying something about "Won't he be amazed that we've got the girl-cub too!" The boy didn't know who "he" was at that moment, but he wondered why whoever it was wanted him, and would like it that Misty was a bonus.

"**I Wanna Be Like You" is my favourite song in the movie. Maybe Misty will find it easier to communicate in the next chapter. PLEASE review! Why didn't anyone review last time? Just one word typed, that's all it takes!**


	4. Chapter 3: Like Someone Like You

**OK, let's continue the story. So I'll be switching between POVs of Misty and Mowgli a bit more, since they're both immersed in the story. Thanks for your review, Whiteling.**

Misty wondered how she'd even gotten herself into this situation. A bunch of monkeys were basically kidnapping her, after she'd become friendly with a feral boy who had gotten both of them adopted by a singing bear.

She didn't even understand how she and Mowgli could understand each other when they didn't even speak the same language. Of course, he talked to her in the same language as the monkeys, so she usually was able to understand about half of it. She wondered if she'd get the chance to ever learn animal languages like Mowgli, or if she could teach him English.

Mowgli was more focused on what was happening. The monkeys had brought him and Misty to a bunch of ruins, yelling to an orangutan on a chair "We got him, King Louie! And look what else we've got!"

A chain of monkeys lowered Mowgli and Misty down in front of their King. He looked at Misty first. "Well, so there's a girl-cub in the jungle now." Then he turned to Mowgli, unaware that Misty didn't know all of what he was saying. "So you're the man-cub. Crazy."

"I'm not as crazy as you are!" Mowgli said fiercely. He called up to the monkeys "Put us down!"

The monkeys dropped him and Misty. "You cut that out!" Mowgli yelled at them, helping Misty up.

"I don't understand most of this." Misty whispered, gesturing as best she could. But her mind was really more on how Mowgli was acting so sweet around her, helping her up, holding her hand...she'd never expect any thirteen-year-old boy, let alone someone brought up with only animals, to take any notice of a girl.

The orangutan picked both of them up with one hand each. "Cool it. Unwind yourselves." Then he held out his feet – as they were basically hands – and grabbed one of Misty's hands and, with some difficulty, got hold of one of Mowgli's swinging fists. "Come on, let's shake, cousins."

"What do you want us for?" Mowgli and Misty said at the same time, although Misty was speaking in English.

"Well, word has caught my royal ear – have a banana -" A banana was shot into each kid's mouth, one each. Misty chewed as quickly as she could, "That you wanna stay in the jungle." That was directed at Mowgli.

"Stay in the jungle? I sure do!" Mowgli exclaimed.

Misty swallowed her mouthful and said "I can't stay. I'm not used to this." gesturing again. "I can't defend myself." she admitted shamefully, still managing to get

"_Living here is like freaking charades!" _she thought.

The orangutan smiled. "Good. And ol' King Louie – that's me – can fix both of your problems." He put the kids down, and this time, held up two bananas with each hand. "Have two bananas." This time, Misty caught them, and ate one at a time, since she hadn't eaten since the day before. "Have we got a deal?" King Louie continued.

"Yes, sir." said Mowgli. "I'll do anything to stay in the jungle." He gave gestures for Misty so she understood, then whispered exactly what to say. In English it meant simply "Yes." He had known that Misty was worried about not being able to defend herself. "_I'm used to the jungle. I can protect her." _Mowgli thought, feeling a bit of a thrill at the idea of being a hero, although in reality, he was nowhere near as strong a person as he imagined.

King Louie explained within song, which Misty had much less trouble understanding, since it was made up of more simple words that sounded more like slurred English than animal-speak she couldn't understand a word of. "_Now I'm the king of the swingers, ooh, the jungle VIP._

_I've reached the top and had to stop, and that's what's bothering me,_

_I wanna be a man, man and girl-cub – and stroll right into town,_

_And be just like the other men, I'm tired of monkeying around,_

_Oh, o-be-do, I wanna be like you_

_I wanna walk like you, talk like you, t-o-o._

_You see it's true, an ape like me,_

_Can learn to be h-u-man to-o-o."_

In seconds, the two kids had gotten caught up in the beat. The other monkeys were already dancing, and in seconds, Mowgli had seized Misty's hands and swung her around. Both of them started laughing. Even Misty forgot her fears and enjoyed it.

"Cousin Louie, you're doing real good!" Mowgli assured him.

"Now, here's your part of the deal, cuz." King Louie said. "Lay the secret on me of man's red fire."

Misty understood it too. "But I don't know how to make fire." Mowgli protested.

"What about learning the language? That should come first." Misty gestured.

But she could see that the ape was dead-set on the fire. "_Now don't try to kid me, man-cub, I made a deal with you_

_What I desire is man's red fire, to make my dream come true,_

_Now give me the secret man or girl-cub, come on, clue me, what'd you do?_

_Give me the power of man's red flower, so I can be like you."_

To Misty, he didn't seem that bothered about the fire itself, only the idea. Besides, she didn't have a clue how to start a fire in the ruins. And Mowgli had lived in the jungle all his life, so he hadn't got the slightest idea on how to start one either.

Mowgli shrugged and continued to dance with Misty. She even took some initiative, mixing the crazy monkey dance with a few of the rules she'd learned at school. "Like this." she said, placing Mowgli's and her hands in the traditional dance position, then twirling, dipping...Mowgli caught on and incorporated his other moves too, to the jazz that was playing.

Suddenly, a familiar voice broke in, just as Mowgli dipped Misty for the fourth time. "Hey! _Da-zap bon ronee, ha-ba..." _Nothing he said made sense, even by jungle standards, but Misty recognized the cheerful laid-back tone. Mowgli glanced over, but didn't seem to recognize the bear dressed up like a monkey, not that anyone else did, either.

Misty sang along with everyone else as best she could when it began. "_I wanna be like yo-o-ou._

_I wanna walk like you, talk like you, to-o-o._

_You see it's tru-u-ue, someone like me,_

_Can learn to be, like someone like me._

_Can learn to be, like someone like you,"_

"One more time!" yelled King Louie, accidentally knocking Baloo's disguise off, so the bear was the only one singing when everyone recognized him.

"Yeah! _Can learn to be, like someone like me!"_

Thus ensued a huge chase, that was fun to Mowgli, and nerve-wracking for Misty. But soon enough, the monkey's ruins had crumbled, while Bagheera and Baloo had the two kids back.

**Some original stuff in the next chapter! Please review!**


	5. Chapter 4: Language

**Let's continue. Thanks for reviewing, Sideshow Cellophane 26 and Whiteling (and I'm actually taking my cue from other authors who have used the phrase "girl-cub").**

"So, I s-say..." Mowgli stuttered in English, "Hello, my na -name as Mowgli?"

"Not quite." Misty said patiently, although it was fast wearing her down. "You say 'Hello, my name is Mowgli." They were trying to teach each other languages. Mowgli was trying to teach Misty a universal jungle language, and Misty attempted to teach Mowgli English. They'd been working at each for three hours, and Misty had learnt to say "Hi, I'm Misty. What's your name?", "I don't speak your language. Could you repeat that?" and a bunch of other helpful phrases. She'd even learnt to say "girl-cub", the way the animals referred to her. Misty still found it hard to understand Mowgli with his animalistic accent, but she was a fast learner.

Mowgli was a quick learner too, but speaking English was hard for him. Still, he'd begun to understand Misty when she spoke English better, although he could only say "I'm sorry, I don't understand", and "Hello, my name is Mowgli. What's yours?" He was also easily frustrated, so he lost patience with learning the phrases.

Misty had at last learned Baloo and Bagheera's names, so she could talk to them properly, and she told Mowgli about her own predicament and her own time. Being young, Mowgli found it easy to believe.

"So," Misty said in her best jungle accent and in the language "Are there any animals I should be wary of? Snakes, tigers..."

Mowgli shrugged. "There was this snake, Kaa. Saw him last night. Does this swirly thing with his eyes to trap..."

"Hypnosis." Misty guessed, speaking in English.

Mowgli shrugged again. "Whatever. And they keep talking about this tiger, Shere Khan. Never met him, but Bagheera wants to take me to the man village cause of him. But I'm not scared. I could fight him."

Misty shuddered. "A tiger? I couldn't." She couldn't imagine the tall lanky boy fighting a tiger. Sure, he had some muscles, and he definitely had guts, but still, a tiger...? She cleared the thoughts from her mind.

Misty got herself better acquainted with Baloo and Bagheera, since she could now speak their language. However, she decided she disliked the term 'girl-cub' and asked them "Could you not call me girl-cub and stick with Misty?"

At night, she and Mowgli ended up side by side in a soft bunch of leaves, since Misty had left her bag by the river. Luckily, she was even able to drink water from a stream, which had clean enough water. But while she and Mowgli slept that night, she didn't hear Baloo and Bagheera's serious conversation.

"Mowgli seems to have man's ability to get into trouble." Bagheera was saying. "Now he's dragging this girl into it too. And she doesn't want to go to the man village, she says that isn't even where she came from. I think Mowgli's attitude is rubbing off on her. And your influence hasn't been exactly-"

Baloo shushed the panther. "You're gonna wake them up! They've both had a big day. It ain't easy, learning to be like me."

"Associating with those scatterbrained apes." Bagheera said scornfully. "I hope both of them learned something from that."

Obviously not, as at that moment, Mowgli softly sleep-sang "Scooby-dooby do..."

"I wanna be like you, I wanna walk..." Misty joined in, even though she was asleep too.

"That's my kids!" Baloo said with a grin.

But Bagheera persistently insisted that Baloo couldn't adopt Mowgli and Misty. "You wouldn't marry a panther, would you?" he reasoned.

"Come to think of it, no panther ever asked me!" Baloo laughed.

Bagheera reminded him of the biggest danger: Shere Khan.

"The tiger? What's he got against the kids?" Baloo questioned.

"He hates man with a vengeance, you know that!" Bagheera said impatiently. "Because he fears man's guns and man's fire."

"But little Mowgli don't have those things. Nor does Misty." Baloo protested.

"Shere Khan won't wait until they do!" Bagheera persisted. "Not that girls would use those things, but he won't see the difference. He'll get Mowgli and Misty while they're young and helpless. We have to do what's best for them."

"You better believe it." Baloo answered vehemently. "You name it, I'll do it."

"Good. Then make them go to the man village."

Anyone else could've seen that coming, but Baloo was clearly trying not to see it. "Are you out of your mind? I promised them they could stay in the jungle with me!"

"That's just the point!" Bagheera insisted. "As long as they remain here, they're in danger! Especially the girl. It's clear she knows nothing about the jungle. It's up to you."

"Why me?"

"Because Mowgli won't listen to me, and Misty keeps following his lead."

Baloo sighed. "I love those kids. Like they were my own cubs."

"Then think of what's best for them and not yourself!"

"Well, can't I...can't I wait until morning?"

"It's morning now." Bagheera pointed out. The sky was already tinged gold with sun rays below the blue, and a few of the fluffiest clouds were peachy-coloured. It was beautiful, but although Misty didn't know it, her third day in the jungle would prove to be turbulent.

**I've been thinking about the next act of the story. I've noticed that the first half of the movie is mostly about getting to know the characters, and the whole "I Wanna Be Like You" scene is basically a fun tangent with the best song in the movie. PLEASE review – I didn't have Mowgli and Misty communicating for no reason.**


	6. Chapter 5: Running Away

**OK, this was so painful to watch, when Baloo broke the news that Mowgli had to go back to the village. Now it's going to be even more painful when Misty hears it. Thanks for reviewing, Sideshow Cellophane 26 and Whiteling (but I don't think Mowgli will listen to reason).**

Misty hadn't heard the conversation, but when she woke up, she almost immediately noticed Baloo's unusually serious sombre mood. She noticed it so much that she wondered if his careless happiness the day before was something she'd imagined. But she knew that it meant something, and it wasn't good.

Mowgli, however, didn't seem to notice anything off at all. He was the only one that was happily walking along out of the three of them. They all said goodbye to Bagheera, who replied to the two humans, "Goodbye, man-cub and girl-" Misty turned around and gave him a hard stare. "-I mean, Misty," Bagheera amended quickly. "and good luck." He said the last part quietly, so Misty wasn't sure she'd even heard him correctly. Also, Bagheera seemed suspiciously less weighed down with worry.

She knew that Bagheera wanted Mowgli to go to a village so he'd be safe from animals like the tiger he'd talked about the day before. Could it be possible that Bagheera had talked Baloo around to see it from that point of view and that was why he was so depressed? She hoped that wasn't the case.

And suddenly, Misty realized something. Why was she feeling disappointed? Didn't she want to be safe in a village until her family found her? Why, all of a sudden, did she want to stay in the jungle like Mowgli kept saying?

"Do you notice anything strange about Baloo?" she whispered in the jungle language to Mowgli.

"No." Mowgli answered simply. Misty sighed. Why were boys so dense sometimes? She liked Mowgli, she really did, but she didn't understand why he couldn't see things that were so obvious to her.

When he started singing the tune from the day before, which Misty now understood the words to, she added that he couldn't sing a cappella. He'd sounded fine singing the day before with first herself and Baloo, and then with the monkeys, but on his own, Misty resisted blocking her ears.

"_I'll live here in the jungle all my life! _Yeah, man!" Mowgli finished. He grinned at everyone present, and even his smile pained Misty. She didn't want to say anything, though. "_Not yet, not yet." _her mind repeated over and over.

Baloo tried to explain to them. "Look, kids, there's something I've got to tell you."

Mowgli was only half-listening, distracted by a butterfly, but Misty, looking worried, answered. "I think I know what it is, but continue."

Baloo wasn't quite as good at putting things into words as Bagheera was, so he simply copied the "you wouldn't marry a panther, would you" bit that Bagheera had said last night. "Don't you two realize that you are humans?"

"I'm not any more." Mowgli said. "I'm a bear like you."

Misty said nothing.

When Baloo finally came out with the taking them to the man village bit, Mowgli's expression became horrified, then angry. "You said we were partners! You're just like Bagheera." There was no room for Misty to react, as Mowgli again grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled her along as he ran off. Baloo called after them, but Mowgli ignored the calls.

"We can take care of ourselves from now on." he muttered.

Misty gave a sigh. "Mowgli, let go of me, please, I can walk."

Mowgli didn't even seem to have heard her. He continued to pull her, making her stumble, since she wasn't naturally as fast as him. "_Not everyone is brought up by wolves." _she thought crossly, although she didn't voice it.

"What if we meet the tiger – what was his name? Shear something?" Misty persisted.

"Like I said, I can take him on and finish him off." Mowgli said confidently. He finally slowed down and let go of Misty. "We're far enough away now." They had come to a stream, where they rested for a moment.

Misty stared into her lap for a few minutes.

Mowgli looked over at her. "What's up?" he asked, a little concerned now.

Misty barely looked up. "I'm scared." she admitted.

Mowgli's voice was a little harder. "Look, I've said, we can look after ourselves. I've lived in the jungle all my life, and even if you end up getting into trouble, I can protect you." Abruptly, he changed the subject. "Misty, do you want to learn any more jungle language? I don't think I'll need to learn any more English since I'll be staying in the jungle for the rest of my life."

Misty sighed. She wasn't going against Mowgli, but he was yet to prove his strength and protection when there was a real threat. "OK." she said. "We'll continue."

"Well, where did we get up to yesterday?"

"You taught me several animal names."

Mowgli nodded. "Uh-huh, so we'll go on to some more phrases..."

Misty wasn't really paying attention – only just enough so that she could hear what Mowgli was saying and respond, but nothing much else. Most of her mind was taken up by her anxiety. It was just them, two thirteen-year-olds on their own in the jungle. It was fine when they had someone on their side (although she wasn't impressed at Baloo's lousy attempt to get them back when the monkeys first kidnapped them), but she had no clue how to survive without her backpack of essentials. If Mowgli was as overconfident as she thought, then she had no chances.

After about half an hour, Mowgli sighed. "I'm bored. Let's go do something."

"Like what?" Misty asked.

Mowgli shrugged. "Just something." They got up and walked off. Suddenly, their hands touched. Misty's hand shyly closed around Mowgli's...and his did the same. Misty felt a tiny little thrill, but ignored it. The two continued to walk, now hand in hand.

**I liked putting the sweetness in at the end of that part. Next up, Misty will meet Kaa...danger alert! It's not just a simple matter of not looking at him – he's tricky. Please revie**


	7. Chapter 6: Kaa's Manipulation

**I'm back, so on with the next part of the story. Oh, and about what Misty says about Kaa's voice...there's a fanfiction I flicked through yesterday that suggests that he has lust for Shanti, and I'd had that thought before anyway. Keep in mind that Kaa is presumably an adult and that Mowgli and Misty are thirteen in this fic.**

**Thanks for your review, Whiteling (and I agree).**

The two kids wandered aimlessly for a long time.

"Mowgli, I'm tired of walking." Misty complained. "Can't we sit down? There's a tree right over there."

"OK, OK." Mowgli said. They both went to sit under a shady tree. Neither of them talked for a moment. Then Misty gave a little shriek as something wrapped around her waist and then Mowgli's. They were drawn up into the tree, and Misty touched the thing. To her shock, it felt like some kind of scaly plastic.

Finally, they were set safely on a branch. But inches away, a very evil-looking snake smirked at her, and Misty realized that he was the one to bring them up here.

Misty didn't take her eyes off the snake, backing away a little bit.

"Kaa!" Mowgli exclaimed. "It's you!"

The name rang a bell with Misty... "_I asked him about dangerous animals...he mentioned Kaa...what did he say? Swirly...oh no!" _Misty tore her eyes away from Kaa's face, remembering that he used hypnosis.

"...ssso nice to ssssee you again, man-cub." Kaa was saying to Mowgli. Then he moved further over to Misty, who was standing further away. "And who'sss thissss? A girl-cub?" He hissed every time he used the letter S.

Misty refused to look at him. "Misty." she corrected, in the fluent jungle language, since she had someone else to use it on. "If you have to call me anything, let it be my name. 'Girl-cub' is just a jungle term. We all have names that we'd like to be preferred by and mine is Misty." She was going off on a tangent, saying everything except that she knew that he was a hypnotist and that she had no intentions of falling for his tricks.

"Go away. Leave us alone." Mowgli snapped.

"Let me look at you." Kaa continued, trying to come face to face with the two teens. Mowgli put his hands over his eyes. Misty shut hers. "You don't want me to look at you?" Kaa said. "Then you look at me." His tone was non-threatening and casual, but it was obvious that he wasn't going to let them leave anytime soon. The minute Mowgli or Misty pulled one of his coils off their, another one would wrap around their ankle or something. In fact, Mowgli usually helped Misty pull one off herself, due to her weakness, so he was having an even harder time freeing himself. But whatever happened, Kaa was quick with another coil that wouldn't let them get far away.

"No." Mowgli said. "I know what you're trying to do, Kaa-"

"You do? And have you told your little girlfri-" Kaa caught himself and changed his tune. "I mean, you don't trust me?"

Misty scowled and spoke up. "I'm sorry? You were saying, has he told me? No, it's like my mom always says, never trust a snake."

"Then there'sss nothing I can do to help?" Kaa persisted.

"_Ugh, his voice is so creepy!" _Misty thought. "_What is he, a snake or a pedo?"_

But Mowgli was sidetracked. "You want to help me?"

"Sss-certainly." Kaa said smoothly. "I can ssee to it that neither of you ever have to leave this jungle."

"How could you do that?" Misty asked, saying exactly what Mowgli was about to say. She opened her eyes in shock.

"Oh, I have my own sssubtle little waysss." Kaa answered. "But firssst, you both mussst trussst me."

Misty kept herself focused, as Mowgli said that he didn't trust anyone.

"I'm not like thosssse sssso-called fairweather friendsss of yoursss." Kaa insisted, wrapping a muscular coil over Mowgli's eyes. "You can trussst me."

Mowgli pushed the coils off his eyes, and Misty hadn't remembered to keep them shut. Bad move. Kaa's eyes went straight to work, and the two teens were oblivious to anything that happened...

Mowgli came back to the real world with a start. He realized what Kaa had done, and got out of his coils quickly. He could hear Kaa's voice below him, so they were safe for the moment. He quickly shook Misty, who woke up more slowly.

"Aw, what the heck." Mowgli muttered. With an effort, he picked Misty up and set her onto the branch.

"Wow, you're strong." she muttered, rubbing her eyes.

"Nah, you're not that heavy." Mowgli said with false modesty, showing off. But then he scowled, remembering the betrayal. "Watch this." he said, carefully pushing Kaa's coils off the branch completely. Then he slid down a vine (which Misty copied) and said crossly into the mass of coils "You told me a lie, Kaa. You said I could trust you!"

"It'ssss like you sssaid!" Kaa hissed. "You can't trussst anyone, not even your little girlfriend!"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Mowgli snapped, a blush showing up faintly. Misty's blush was more noticeable, since her skin was fairer and she wasn't from India.

"Why couldn't he trust me?" she challenged, making sure she looked everywhere but Kaa's eyes, this time.

"Oh, I don't know." said Kaa, with a little smirk. "Are you sure you're not leading the man-cub to the man village he doessssn't want to go to?"

"What?" Misty gasped. How had he thought of that? She turned to look at Mowgli. "He's lying again."

Mowgli shrugged. "Whatever. Come on, let's get out of here." Misty followed him, but she was saddened. How could that have happened. Kaa only had to plant one doubt, and she'd lost some of Mowgli's trust. No matter how many times she told him, Mowgli's answer was always the same: "Whatever."

"Mowgli, please talk to me!" Misty begged. "Do you believe me, or Kaa?"

Mowgli wouldn't say much. "The only reason I'm not leaving you alone is because you won't survive out there without me. Kaa might be lying, but he might not."

"He lied before!" Misty pointed out. "Are you that impressionable? And by the way, it didn't look like you were ready to protect me when he went all creeper on us."

Mowgli glared at her. "Well, if that's the way you feel, I'll go away and leave you alone. If that's what you want." An unfathomable look crossed his face. "But if I'm never going to see you again, I might as well do what I've had the urge to do since I first looked at you." he said in a language only wolves knew (he'd grown up knowing most of the jungle languages, but the wolf language was the one he knew best).

Misty looked hopelessly confused. "Wha-" she began, but before she could finish, Mowgli had pressed his lips to hers. Quick as a flash, he'd broken away and run off, and Misty was on her own, too surprised to run after him. She sat down on the ground. "_He'd wanted to kiss me?" _she thought. "_So does that mean...he only protected me because he liked the way I looked? Was it lust, or was it something more?" _She couldn't deny it, she'd thought Mowgli was hot on first glance. But she'd started to like him for more than that. His stubbornness, his smarts (what there were), his smile, even the way she felt when he held her hand. But now he'd kissed her, just because he seemed to want the chance before he left her alone.

She knew that Mowgli wasn't really that competent at protecting her. She tried to convince herself that she didn't even want to see him again.

"_But then," _she thought miserably, "_How can my lips burn with the want for him to kiss me again?"_

**I figured that Mowgli would have lust for Misty as well as like her in that way, so when he got mad, he kissed her first, simply because he wanted to (I mean, he's feral). Please review and tell me what you think! I have the intention to do the sequel (yeah, yeah, I know most people don't like it but I'll try to improve it.) Please, please, PLEASE review!**


	8. Chapter 7: Showdown

**OK, we'll continue. Thank you for reviewing, animelovercat.**

Misty could've been sitting around for an hour, maybe longer, but the sky had begun to darken. She had no idea what to do, where to go. She still remembered the rumour about the tiger – Shear something...no…

Shere...

"_Shere...Kone?" _Misty wondered. "_Shere...Can...nearly...Shere Khan!" _Even the name sent a shiver through her frame. She couldn't stay there, unprotected. Even if Shere Khan didn't try to kill her, she wasn't going to hang around to find out. And if she ended up passing Kaa, he might well try again.

Misty felt miserable. Why had she confronted Mowgli? Him being all distant was better than him not being there at all, even if he wasn't as jungle-savvy as he thought. He still knew the place better than her.

She also thought about Baloo and Bagheera, wondering what had happened to them. She hadn't seen either of them since the argument, since Mowgli had dragged her off afterwards. She sort of missed them.

"_Not as much as you miss Mowgli." _her conscience pointed out. Misty sighed. She did miss the jungle boy a lot. He might not really be as smart as he thought, but he was good fun, and up for anything, and now she knew that he really did like her.

Misty stood up, making her decision. Mowgli took risks, so if she wanted to find him, she'd have to do the same. She set off in the direction he was in.

It was about two hours later when she incidentally managed to find Mowgli. He was surrounded by four vultures.

"Nobody wants me around." Mowgli was saying.

"Yeah, we know how you feel." said one of the vultures.

"Nobody wants us around, either." added another.

"We may look a bit shabby, but we've got hearts."

"And feelings, too."

"And just to prove it, we're gonna let you join our little group."

"Kid, we'd like to make you an honorary vulture."

"Thanks," Mowgli said uncertainly, "But I'd rather be on my own."

The vultures insisted. They even began a little number about how they would be friends. But right in the middle, one of the vultures caught sight of Misty. "Look, lads!" he exclaimed. "There's another of them."

Misty stepped back uncertainly. "Um, yes.." she said. "I'm really with him." she pointed to Mowgli. "But we kind of...had a fight. We're both alone, you see."

That made the vultures resume the song, along with the two kids singing.

"_Forevermore..." _they sang, about to end the song.

"_That's what friends...are...fooooor..." _A new voice broke in, a deep baritone. The vultures and Misty all cowered behind Mowgli when they saw the owner of the voice. It was a tiger. He clapped. "Bravo, bravo. An extraordinary performance, and thank you for detaining my victims." His eyes locked on Misty and Mowgli.

"Shere Khan." Misty whispered, too soft for anyone else to hear.

"D-don't mention it, your highness." one of the vultures gulped.

Shere Khan laughed, and then spoke abruptly. "Boo."

All four of the vultures freaked at that one word and flew up to the nearest tree in the barren landscape.

"Run, friends, run!" called out one of them.

Misty would have done that, but Mowgli suddenly reached around and clasped one of her hands. "Why should I run?" he said.

"Why should you run?" Shere Khan repeated. "Could it be possible that you don't know who I am?"

"I know you all right. You're Shere Khan." Mowgli answered.

"Precisely. Then you should also know that everyone runs from Shere Khan." the tiger said, placing a claw under Mowgli's chin. The boy pushed it away.

"You don't scare me." he said stubbornly. "I won't run from anyone."

Khan didn't seem to have any change in emotion. He smiled and nodded all the time, making Misty fear him all the more. "Would you be able to speak for your little girlfriend?" he questioned calmly. "It seems that she would prefer not to stay."

Mowgli glared, but didn't contradict the use of the word 'girlfriend'. "I'm protecting her. You won't get close to either of us. I told you, I'm not scared of you."

"You have spirit for one so small." Khan said. "And such spirit is deserving of a sporting chance. Now, I'm going to close my eyes and count to ten. It makes the chase more interesting. For me." He began to count slowly. Mowgli pushed Misty further out of harm's way and got a stick.

"You're trying my patience." Khan suddenly said, turning around. He'd only gotten to four. Then he sped up his counting impossibly fast. "Five six seven eight, nine, ten!" He suddenly lunged for Mowgli who dropped the stick in terror.

Suddenly, Khan stopped. He was being held back by...

"Run, Mowgli, run, Misty! Run!" Baloo had appeared out of nowhere to save the day.

Mowgli started to hit Khan with the stick ineffectively, but then Khan took off, taking Baloo with him.

"Somebody do something with those kids!" Baloo hollered. Two vultures each took hold of each of the teens.

"Let go, Baloo needs help!" Mowgli was yelling. By that time, Khan had the upper hand, and was clawing at Baloo like crazy.

Lightning struck. The tree suddenly burst into flames, and the vultures put Mowgli down. "That's the only thing ol' stripes is afraid of!" one of them exclaimed. "You get the fire, we'll do the rest!"

Three of the vultures distracted Shere Khan while the other kept Misty out of harm's way. She was way past speaking up for herself, and could only helplessly watch as Mowgli tied a burning branch to Khan's tail, making his eyes nearly pop out and run off, terrified.

Mowgli wasn't happy, though. Baloo still lay there, motionless. And Misty, while OK physically, was emotionally exhausted. She passed out right there, only metres away from Baloo. Mowgli held her in one arm, while he sat next to his friend.

It was up to Bagheera to explain to Mowgli that he had to be brave, and how Baloo was a hero of the jungle.

"It's best we leave now." he finished. "Come along, man-cub."

The next voice even woke the exhausted Misty up. "Hey, don't stop now, Baggy, you're doing great. There's more, lots more!"

Bagheera didn't seem that pleased to see that Baloo was alive after all, but Misty and Mowgli were. Even Misty was able to run up to him, thrilled that he was OK.

"You sure had us worried!" Mowgli said.

"You saved us." Misty said. "And then we thought, if you'd done that at the cost..."

"Aw, I was just taking five. You know, playing it cool." Baloo said carelessly.

"Good old Papa Bear!" Mowgli said happily, adopting a nickname for his friend.

Misty smiled. If the portal arrived on time – that was in about eleven days –, then she wouldn't mind surviving a little longer in the jungle.

**And that wouldn't be because of a certain jungle boy, right, Misty? OK, just, please, review.**


	9. Chapter 8: Romance

**This fanfiction will return...right now!**

Mowgli and Misty were still awake during the night. They talked together quietly.

"I'm sorry I doubted your ability to survive in the jungle." Misty whispered, although in her heart she still believed that Mowgli wasn't quite as competent as he thought. But she shouldn't had said it, and was truly sorry for saying it. After all, now everything was OK, where was the harm in letting Mowgli think that until he was mature enough to admit the truth to himself? He'd never believe it just from everyone else saying it.

"It's OK, Misty." Mowgli answered. "I'm sorry I left you, really."

Misty blushed a little, remembering their parting touch. "Um, can I ask, why did you, uh, do what you did before you left?"

Mowgli looked at the ground. "I don't know." he muttered. "I wanted to. I don't even know the name of it, and animals, I've noticed, can't do it. They kind of have something similar, but-"

Misty interrupted. "Well, in English, we call it a kiss. It's a sign of affection. If it's on the lips, like the way you kissed me, it usually is a romantic kind of love. Or just a relationship. Maybe kind of liking someone in that way." She smiled slyly. "So then, Mowgli, why do you think you kissed me?"

Mowgli looked shy now. "I don't love you, exactly." he admitted. "But if it's in that way, then I guess I like you." He sighed. "This is so confusing." Misty was taken aback by how readily he'd admitted it. But then, she reminded herself, he wasn't going to be as shy as boys in her time were.

"It's OK." Misty assured him. "It's confusing for me too. Anyway -" It was her turn to be shy. "Mowgli, why don't we give you and me a try? Together? A relationship?"

Mowgli didn't completely understand. "So does that mean – we are involved...um...you call it ro-man-tic-ca-ly? I don't really get it."

"You just said it." Misty told him. "Yes, we're involved romantically. And it means-" she smirked "-you get to kiss me whenever you want."

Mowgli couldn't help but smile. "I'm holding you to that." Then he kissed her for the second time. Misty knew that she would have to leave sooner or later, but right now, she forgot that. She forgot everything, except for one thing. And for that moment, it was the most important thing to her in the world. "_I'm Mowgli's girlfriend!"_

The next day, everything seemed fine. Baloo and Bagheera had less reason to argue over the fate of both Mowgli and Misty, and the two kids were happy to stay in the jungle, now that Shere Khan had been chased away by the fire.

But then, just before sunset, they walked by a little place which seemed a bit too civilized to be another part of wild jungle. They all heard a voice humming.

Mowgli heard it first, and spotted a figure across the river. "What's that?" he asked.

"The man village." Bagheera told him.

"No, I mean that." Mowgli was talking about the girl that was going to the river with a jug, humming. She was probably a little younger than him and Misty. Speaking of Misty, he glanced back at her. "She looks like you, but she also looks like me more."

"She's Indian." Misty explained. "I'm not."

"They're nothing but trouble." Baloo tried to tell Mowgli.

Misty looked up at him. "So I'm nothing but trouble, just like her?" She was starting to feel jealous. How could Mowgli have wanted her, and now was staring at this other girl? She was supposed to be his girlfriend, for crying out loud!

The girl was now singing, in English, Misty noticed. As she sang, she pulled her hair out of the braids she wore it in, and swapped them for cute little pigtails. "_Father's hunting in the forest," _the girl sang.

"_Mother's cooking in the home,_

_I must go to fetch the water,_

_Till the day that I am grown._

_Till I'm grown, till I'm grown,_

_I must go to fetch the water, till the day that I am grown."_

Mowgli climbed into a tree, watching her. Misty smirked, and climbed up too. Then she gave the spellbound boy a tiny push, and he ended up in the water. The girl from the village giggled, and then sang another verse, at last actually getting the water she'd come for. "_Then I will have a handsome husband, and a daughter of my own._

_And I'll send her to fetch the water, I'll be cooking in the home." _The girl hummed the next part, until singing the last line once again. "_I'll send her to fetch the water, I'll be cooking in my home."_

The girl continued humming as she walked back to the village gates. Misty carefully climbed down from the tree to land next to Mowgli. Just as the girl got to the gates, she dropped the jug on purpose and fluttered her eyelashes at Mowgli. Misty felt jealousy rising up again, but then the girl smiled and winked at her.

Misty realized that all the flirting was just to lead Mowgli into the village, and Mowgli was falling for it. The boy picked up the jug and followed the girl into the village. Misty smiled. She turned back to wave goodbye to Baloo (who looked disappointed) and Bagheera (who looked pleased) and followed the once-wild jungle boy and the flirtatious younger girl into the little jungle village.

As Misty went into the village, she could almost swear that she heard Baloo singing a duet with a reluctant Bagheera. She'd miss them a lot, but her safety would be here, in the village. And best of all, she had Mowgli, her boyfriend.

**NO, this is not the end. I will do the sequel, and make it interesting. Count this part of the story as Part 1 of "Mist In the Jungle". Keep reading, and please keep reviewing.**


	10. Chapter 9: Puppet Show

**Let's start on Part 2 of this story, shall we? Read on to find out what happens! Thanks for reviewing, dream lighting and Xx Rebel Writer xX.**

It didn't take long for Mowgli or Misty to start getting used to the village. Mowgli was quickly taken in by a family who already had an overactive younger son called Ranjan, who looked up to the older boy no end. Mowgli became basically fluent in English within two months.

The time portal didn't arrive for Misty, but she was OK. The girl that they'd met, who introduced herself as Shanti, persuaded her mother to take Misty in. As soon as they were within the village, Shanti turned out to be a good friend to both of them, and her flirty act at the river seemed to be a one-time thing, especially once she accepted that Mowgli and Misty were together. Misty was really worried about her family, but she tried to have a good time.

One night, after two months, the two kids pinned up a sheet and made puppets, and put on a show about Mowgli's time in the jungle.

"I never knew where I came from, but I always knew where I belonged." Mowgli narrated. Misty held up the puppets to match what he narrated. "This is me and Bagheera," Mowgli said, "The panther who found me in the jungle. He's a good friend of mine. But my best friend of all was...good old Papa Bear. We had some crazy times together. And when the monkeys grabbed me, things got really crazy. Then, I came face to face with the meanest, scariest tiger in the whole jungle: Shere Khan."

Ranjan jumped up and down when he got to that part. "You stay away from Mowgli, you mean old tiger, or I'll tie some fire to your tail!" He pulled the sheet down, and continued acting like a wild thing until Mowgli pulled the sheet off him. "I got him, Mowgli! Did you see, I got him!"

"You sure did, Ranjan," Mowgli laughed, "But it's gonna be kind of hard to finish the story now."

"But we all know how it ends." Ranjan pointed out. "Shanti blinks her big beautiful brown eyes at you-"

"And we both follow her into the village." Misty finished.

Shanti giggled. "I did not!"

"Did so." Mowgli shot back.

"Something was in my eye!"

"Both of them?"

"Well..." Shanti paused. "You were so ugly you made my eyes water! I couldn't have flirted because I saw your girlfriend right there with you!"

Misty giggled too. "Shan, each to their own." She usually called Shanti "Shan", although she was the only one that did so.

"Well, you-" Mowgli began, but the leader of the village, Ranjan's father stopped him.

"No, no. We give thanks for Shanti's beautiful brown eyes. Without them, Mowgli and Misty would never have found their way into our lives."

Shanti's mother thanked the two kids for a wonderful story, and went to lead the two girls back home.

"Good night, Mowgli." Shanti said, pretending to flirt.

"Goodnight, Mowgli." Misty said, going over the top and fluttering her eyelashes.

"'Night, girls." Mowgli said. "Watch out for Shere Khan on your way home."

Shanti rolled her eyes. "You and your stories. Everyone knows tigers don't come into the village."

Misty stuck her tongue out at Mowgli, who started laughing (when they could find a space alone, she could do a lot more than just stick it out).

Ranjan growled. "Tigers go wherever they want!"

"Goodnight, boys." Shanti's mom said.

Before the girls went to bed that night, Misty started up an interesting conversation. "I think Mowgli misses being in the jungle."

"Why would he?" Shanti asked. "I'd be terrified if I lived there."

"Well, he is used to it." Misty pointed out. "He loved it there. Sometimes I see him looking out of the village gates. He misses everyone there. Well, he probably doesn't miss Shere Khan much. Or Kaa. But Bagheera, Baloo...he misses them a lot. I miss them too, kind of."

"I guess I understand." Shanti admitted. "But it's really dangerous out there, and as far as I'm concerned, it's good that we're not allowed to cross the river." That was one of the rules in the village; no child was allowed to go into the jungle. The furthest anyone went was to the river, and that was to get water, just as Shanti and Misty did every morning (they took turns actually getting the water, but the other always kept the one getting it company).

Speaking of which, it was Shanti's turn the next day. The two girls walked to the river, chatting away.

As Shanti crouched down to fill the jug, Misty continued to talk, and both of them got a shock, when a voice said "Hey, girls."

Mowgli was hanging upside down on a branch. "What are you two doing here?" he continued, slipping onto one of the stepping stones in the water that Misty had helped him place for a quick escape route to the jungle if they ever managed to get through without the adults noticing them sneaking off.

"Um, getting water." Shanti told him.

"Enough about us." Misty said. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm on the lookout. For danger."

"Please. There's no danger around here." Shanti insisted.

"Are you sure you're not here just to enjoy the view?" Misty teased. "Or even better, to make sure me and Shanti don't tell when you go back to the jungle."

"Nuh-uh." Mowgli insisted. "Keep this just between the three of us, but yesterday, I saw tiger tracks."

Shanti didn't believe him, but Mowgli kept insisting. "It's Shere Khan. I hear he's looking for me – and you too, Mist. Seeking his bloodthirsty revenge."

"I didn't do anything!" Misty protested. "You made that up! Even if he is looking for you, it's just you. Cause I wasn't the one who tied fire to his tail."

"Still," Mowgli said, "keep your ears open, and always watch your back. Or the last thing you'll ever hear is-"

"ROAR!"

Shanti and Misty screamed at the first moment, until they realized what just happened. Both girls overbalanced, and grabbed hold of each other as they fell into the river, with Ranjan still playing tiger. He and Mowgli burst out laughing at the girls' faces.

"When does the tiger roar?" Mowgli said.

"NOW!" Ranjan yelled.

Shanti stood up first. "Boys." she muttered, taking hold of Ranjan's hand and leading him away. "Come on, Ranjan. He's a bad influence."

Mowgli shrugged as Ranjan looked back.

Misty stood up and tried to wring the water out of her skirt. "That was a mean trick to play on Shanti." she remarked. "She's already scared enough of the jungle. If you keep going on about Shere Khan to her, she'll make sure you never go into the jungle again."

Mowgli shrugged again. "She's just a friend. She can't stop me from going in. Besides," he grinned mischievously. "I have a plan. We'll be in the jungle within an hour, I guarantee it."

Misty smiled a bit too, but then she said "Wait a sec. Can't you stay for a few minutes? We're alone." She didn't wait for an answer, and lunged for a kiss. Mowgli dodged just in time.

They played this game a lot. It was basically kiss tag, just that once the tagged one was caught, they were all too happy to play along.

It took ten minutes until Misty caged Mowgli in her arms and got the kiss, slipping her tongue in and touching his for a second.

Then she smiled and broke the kiss. "Let's get going." she said, then she scooped up Shanti's forgotten water jug. "I better bring this back for her."

Mowgli grinned, slung an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders, and they walked off.

**Well, that's done. I have a feeling not many people liked "Jungle Rhythm" and I kind of have a love/hate relationship with it, but just a warning, it's coming up. Please, just review, though.**


	11. Chapter 10: Crossing The River

**Time to continue. Thanks for reviewing, dream lighting.**

When Mowgli and Misty found Shanti and Ranjan at the mango tree, Shanti was acting very distant towards Mowgli.

"She's in a bad mood." Ranjan whispered. Mowgli winked at him, and then said, intending for Shanti to hear, "Hey Ranjan, want to see a little trick I learned in the jungle?" He used the trick King Louie had with the bananas.

"That's a pretty good trick." Ranjan admitted through a mouthful of banana.

"Well, here's a little trick I learned right here at home." Shanti countered, peeling a mango with minimum effort and giving it to Ranjan.

"That's a neater trick." he said.

"Like I said, Ranjan," Shanti said, putting down her fruit basket and climbing down, "Don't listen to him."

"Hey, I listen to him, and I'm still alive." Misty said.

"That's because you're older, and most of the time, you don't need to listen, you just play lip-lockers all the time." Shanti teased, but she wasn't really in a teasing mood with Mowgli.

"She's right, Ranjan." Mowgli said. "Don't listen to me. Listen to the jungle. Can you hear it?"

"Yeah..." murmured Ranjan. Mowgli winked at Misty, reminding her of their earlier conversation.

"Yeah, man! And when you hear that rhythm," he continued, "You get a crazy feeling inside." He then began to sing a song which was obviously written beforehand. "_That morning sun peeks over the mountains,_

_And all the rhinos rub their eyes, when they hear..."_

"Hear what?" asked Ranjan.

"_Hear the jungle rhythm." _Mowgli sang. "_Those birds are tap-tap-tappin' the tree trunks,_

_The busy bee hums as he flies, loud and clear..."_

"_To the jungle rhythm." _Now Misty joined in, trying her best to sing with Mowgli.  
"_Now you can hightail it out of the jungle, but it never leaves your heart._

_First you feel that beat start bubbling under, then you hear the tom-tom's loudest thunder..."_ Now other kids in the village were joining in. Soon, every kid was joining in with the words "_Jungle rhythm", _except for one.

"Come on, Shanti!" Mowgli called.  
"It's fun!" Misty added.

In the end, Mowgli continued to sing as he took her fruit basket. "Hey! Give me that!" Shanti cried, giggling.

"_You'll dance along with them," _Mowgli continued, "_Feel it steal your soul..."_

"_We'll stomp our paws," _another boy sang.

"_Flap our wings!_" added a girl.

"_Maybe do one or two crazy things!" _Mowgli and Misty chanted together.

Every kid wanted to be some kind of animal. Ranjan wanted to be a wolf, a couple of boys were monkeys, some girls were snakes...Mowgli enlisted Misty as his jungle girl as the match to the jungle boy he was, while Shanti got to be a peacock.

"_Those chat-chat-chattering monkeys, swinging through the banyan trees two by two..." _now nearly everyone was singing. "_To the jungle rhythm._

_Sounds like a wolf pack way in the distance, singing pretty harmonies, oh-oh-oh..._

_To the jungle rhythm._

_Now you can hightail it out of the jungle, but it never leaves your heart._

_First you feel that beat start bubbling under, then you hear the tom-tom's loudest thunder!_

_It's moving me, sounds a lot like being free, when you feel..._

_Feel the jungle rhythm." _Mowgli beckoned the kids. They were up to the village gates, and already, Mowgli and Misty were halfway across the stepping stones to the jungle. Ranjan was right behind them, with the other kids following, even the older ones.

Only Shanti realized what they were doing. "Wait, wait, stop! No passing the river! Mowgli, you can't go into the jungle, it's too dangerous! Misty, did you know about this? Mowgli – STOP!" Shanti tore the peacock headband off as she screamed the last word.

"Shanti, what is it?" Ranjan's father came charging up. He was appalled when he saw what was going on. "Children! Come inside this instant, all of you!" Even Ranjan and Misty stopped and obeyed. Only one boy stood outside the village gates. "Mowgli! That includes you."

Mowgli slowly retreated back.

"I am very disappointed in you. You put everyone in danger. You know you're not supposed to cross the river, and yet you deliberately disobeyed me."

Mowgli looked up from underneath his long fringe. "But – but I -"

"No, Mowgli." the man said firmly. "The jungle is a dangerous place. I should know." He pulled up his sleeve. Misty couldn't see the scars, since she was standing further back, with Shanti, but she saw Mowgli gasp. He was confined to his room for the rest of the day without food. Shanti tried to apologize, but he only gave her one hard look. The girls walked back home, talking.

"Did you have to do that?" Misty asked. "I know most of the village kids wouldn't be able to handle themselves, but Mowgli has friends in the jungle."

"It's still dangerous." Shanti insisted. "Besides, I didn't mean to get him in trouble, but we couldn't just cross the river and go into the jungle. Did you know he was going to do that?"

"No." Misty said. She wasn't lying, really. She knew Mowgli was devising a plan to get back to the jungle, but she hadn't expected him to go to all the trouble of practicing a song-and-dance number to entrance all the kids into following him there. "But I still think you should apologize again. When Mowgli gets mad, he doesn't easily forgive."

"Well..." Shanti said. "I can't be caught talking to him, but I'll bring him a basket of fruit tonight. Since he hasn't been allowed food, that should help, right?"

But that night, Mowgli wasn't in his room. Misty and Shanti did sneak out with fruit that they had artistically arranged in a basket, but no matter how many times they called out, Mowgli didn't make an appearance.

"Mowgli, it's us!" Shanti called in a whisper. "Don't be mad, I get grounded all the time. Mowgli...I'm sorry you got in trouble."

"Um, Shan." Misty interjected, "Somehow, I think he's not here. He must've sneaked out."

That's when both of them heard a yell. They ran over to where they heard it, and saw what was happening. Misty and Shanti both gasped.

Baloo and Mowgli were sparring as usual. Shanti misinterpreted the situation, and before Misty could stop her, she started yelling. "Help, wild animal in the village!"

Baloo took off with Mowgli, and no one saw him. But at that moment, they saw another wild animal prowling around.

This time, Misty gasped in fear, and pulled Shanti into a doorway. "The bear was Baloo, one of Mowgli's friends!" she hissed. "Did you have to scream like that?"

"What did you expect?" Shanti whispered back. "Besides, you seem scared enough."

"Didn't you see the other wild animal?" Misty said. "That tiger was Shere Khan! I'd recognize him anywhere. That's why I'm scared. But you're scared of a bear hanging out with Mowgli. He's _told _you about Baloo. He was laughing there."

Shanti gave a sigh. "Fine. But we need to go into the jungle to find him, even if it's just to apologize."

The two girls ran out of the village, across the stepping stones, and back into the jungle.

**Well, now they're back. Come on, review!**


	12. Chapter 11: Search For Mowgli

**Next chapter. Thanks for reviewing, grapejuice101 and dream lighting.**

Mowgli had no idea what had happened with the two girls. Shanti was so scared of the jungle that it didn't really matter to him. He was sure she wouldn't follow him, and the rest of the village wouldn't be able to...would they? The situation with Misty wasn't quite as simple, but she'd probably understand, while Shanti almost certainly wouldn't.

Now that he was away from the village with Baloo, he started venting about the village. "It's always rules, rules, rules and work, work, work."

"Whoa, kid, watch your language."

"That's all they do!"

Meanwhile, Misty was saying something similar as she and Shanti cautiously made their way through the jungle. "Mowgli never really had to obey any rules or do anything growing up, I suspect. The village was a big adjustment, and so this was kind of the point when he would take the chance to leave."

"I still don't understand why he'd like this in the first place." Shanti whispered. "It's all so dark and frightening. I can't even see anything past all the creepers and trees."

Even though they couldn't see things, they could hear people from the village calling for both them and Mowgli. They both felt bad about making the villagers look for them, but Shanti was adamant that they had to find Mowgli themselves.

Misty found the younger girl very trying. She screamed nearly every time an animal or bird came out. Misty understood why – she was just as high-strung when she first got there – but it didn't make it any easier to bear. "_How did Mowgli manage to stand me when I was as scared as Shanti?" _she wondered.

It wasn't long until they actually found danger. Misty spotted the long brown-green scales hanging from a tree and whispered to Shanti "Watch your back. There's a snake around here. Remember when Mowgli was talking about Kaa? I haven't seen any others, but that's not to say they don't have the same powers. Remember, if you see any snakes' heads, don't look at their eyes."

But it was inevitable. The two girls walked further forward, and Shanti froze.

"Excuse me..." The thin familiar voice made Misty try to run, pulling at Shanti, but she wasn't in any position to run, already entranced by the spirals she saw. Misty made the mistake of letting her eyes drift to Kaa's face for one second...

"Bad snake! Bad snake! You leave Shanti and Misty alone!" That was the next thing Misty and Shanti heard. Suddenly, Ranjan was standing in front of them, beating Kaa an inch away from his life and causing him to swallow a rock.

Shanti was the one to pull him away. Misty simply enjoyed it – Mowgli's wild ways rubbed off on her, and she couldn't help having a little bit of sadistic happiness over the pain of someone that had tried to attack them.

"OK, Ranjan." Shanti said. "I think he's had enough." The minute they'd left Kaa behind, the two girls had to think about what to do with the younger child.

"You're not supposed to be here." Shanti said. "We have to get you home."

"No!" Ranjan insisted. "Mowgli's in trouble, and we're going to find him!"

"He is _not _in trouble!" Misty said vehemently. "How many times do I have to say it? The bear he went with was Baloo! They're good friends!" But she already knew what would happen. She, Shanti and Ranjan would be wandering around the jungle until they found Mowgli.

She made one last attempt at convincing them. "Do you realize that Shere Khan was in the village?" she exclaimed. "That means that thing Mowgli said before is true! Khan wants his revenge. What if we run into him before we find Mowgli?"

"You said he wouldn't want revenge on you." Shanti pointed out.

"Revenge, no." Misty admitted. "But Bagheera said that he hates all humans. Even if Mowgli hadn't tied fire to his tail, he'd still want him dead. He tried to kill me too. He wouldn't hesitate in attacking either of you. He's scared of fire and guns, so he couldn't attack in the village, but we're defenseless. If he finds us, we're screwed. He's even worse than Kaa – he's just starved, but Khan doesn't want us to grow up into hunters."

Shanti sighed. "I don't know how to get back, and besides, I somehow think that our newest member of the group isn't going to go home until we find Mowgli, no matter what."

Misty shrugged. "Fine. But Ranjan, you'll stick with us, right? After that stunt you pulled with Kaa, you can protect us!" She smiled at the two kids, then added, "Also, Shanti, keep a lookout for animals. Since Baloo took Mowgli, we better look for a black bear, but if we see a black panther, it might be Bagheera, and it's probably a good idea to let him know what's going on."

But it wasn't that simple. Just because Misty had lived in the jungle for a few days, it didn't make her super-experienced, just as being brought up by wolves for over a decade didn't make Mowgli cautious. After about an hour of wandering through the words, all three kids became so tired that they all found a secluded place with soft ferns, and had to sleep there.

Ranjan fell asleep nearly straight away, in spite of his energy. Just as Misty was drifting off, Shanti whispered "Hey, Mist?"

"Yeah, Shan?"

"Apart from the snake and the tiger, are there any other dangerous animals you know of?"

"Not sure." Misty whispered. "If the ground shakes, it's probably elephants. I saw them marching along in a line just before I met Mowgli. The monkeys are a bit crazy, but they're not dangerous. They did an awesome musical number last time – I didn't understand all of it, but it was something about wanting to be human and about fire."

"Weird." Shanti muttered. "I hope we find Mowgli soon."

"Yeah, me too. But we better sleep, or we'll never be able to be at prime state to even go looking for him. Night, Shan."

"Night, Mist."

**Sorry, I had a lot of trouble getting this one done. But I'm back, and writing!**


	13. Chapter 12: Meeting Up Again

**Back again, let's continue. Thanks for reviewing, grapejuice101, XxRebelWriterxX and dream lighting.**

The kids had to wander around quite a bit the next morning.

"You have to admit, all the plants are really pretty." Misty said, glancing around at the beauty of the jungle.

"Whatever," Shanti muttered, "But it's kind of hard to appreciate it when a snake attacked you last night and a vicious tiger is after your best friends."

"To be fair, Kaa didn't actually attack you." Misty said optimistically. "He simply got ready to attack while you were unable to defend yourself."

"I didn't ask for specifications, Misty!" Shanti snapped. "Look, we're two thirteen-year-old girls, alone in the jungle apart from a little kid who's better at fighting than either of us, looking for a boy who was carried off by a bear-"

"Who is one of his close friends!" Misty exclaimed. "How many times do I have to say it?"

The girls bickered for quite a bit, but they had to stop eventually. It was early morning, and they had to do a lot of things before setting off. Even after they'd had breakfast – wild fruit – Shanti still complained of feeling empty, and Misty felt the same way. They ate a lot of fruit in the village, but their breakfast often consisted of a bigger quantity.

Ranjan was very tired, and by the afternoon, he was stumbling around, rubbing his eyes. The girls took turns carrying him on their backs. Luckily, that was when they found Mowgli.

Shanti heard the soft humming first. "Did you guys hear that?" she asked.

"What?" Ranjan asked, suddenly wide awake.

"It sounded like Mowgli." Shanti said.

Misty's ears picked up on it too. She bolted in the direction without a second thought, and found Mowgli perched on a tree branch, looking forlorn.

"Since when did the rainforest disappoint you, jungle boy?" Mowgli heard the voice and looked down. Misty was standing there, smiling up at him.

"Mist!" Mowgli exclaimed. "When did you get here?"

"Last night. Are you going to come down?" Misty asked.

"Nope, I don't think I will." Mowgli said. "You wanna get what you want, you've gotta come up."

"That's not fair!" Misty pouted. "You're way better than me at climbing."

"Well then," Mowgli said playfully, "I'll just have to chase you on the ground instead." He leapt down from the tree and soon, he and Misty were engaged in another game of kiss tag.

Just as Mowgli had caught his girlfriend and had pulled her up to the tree to share the kiss, they heard another voice call "Mowgli!"

"Shanti?" Mowgli got a shock and ended up hanging upside down in vines, making everyone laugh. They all started trying to get Mowgli out of the vines. Then they heard another voice.

"You out here, kid?"

Misty recognized the jungle language and Baloo's voice. Shanti had learnt a bit from Mowgli out of interest, and she understood it too.

"This isn't really helping, you guys." Mowgli was saying.

Shanti turned her attention back to the vines. "Ranjan, stop pulling!"

Misty watched the next scene with amused horror. She figured out what happened. Baloo came charging out of the trees, roaring like he had when teaching the two kids. Mowgli was trying to stop him, but then Baloo got tangled in vines, Mowgli got untangled, and Shanti had enough courage to punch Baloo in the nose.

Mowgli had obviously asked Baloo to scare Shanti off if she came after him, but now he regretted leaving the village and didn't want him to do that.

"You come anywhere near Ranjan and...I'll really show you hurt!" Shanti stammered, not sounding as threatening as she probably would've liked.

Misty sighed and said "Shanti, leave him alone! Firstly, you're talking in English. You'd need to say that in jungle language. Secondly, I don't think he was going to hurt you." She then turned to Baloo and said in jungle language "Tell me why you were charging through here, trying to scare the crap out of us."

"But he was attacking us!" Shanti protested.

"She just said that you were attacking her." Misty whispered. She added to Shanti "Roaring and waving paws around doesn't count as attacking."

"I'm the one that got socked!" Baloo protested in jungle language. Misty whispered to him how to say it in English.

"That was because you scared her!" Mowgli said.

"But you told me to scare her!" Baloo said. That would have been OK, if Shanti hadn't recognized that particular sentence.

She was hurt and looked like she was about to cry, as she ran off, still holding Ranjan's hand. She wouldn't let Mowgli try to explain. Misty called after her, but she didn't even turn around.

Misty glared at the pair in front of her. "You two have really blown it." she said. "Mowgli, if you had been just a little bit less impulsive, you could've had a chance to show Shanti that the jungle is not vicious. Your plan, your fault." She finally turned back to Baloo. "I'm not blaming you, but next time, just keep in mind that the village is not evil."

After a little bit of discussion, it was clear that Mowgli, however much he loved the jungle, had missed the people of the village too. He'd gotten used to that life. In the end, he grabbed Misty's hand and dragged her off to look for Shanti.

They didn't have to go too far. Mowgli started trying to apologize, but Misty could see that Shanti was staring past him, and she looked behind her and found the source. She tapped Mowgli on the shoulder and pointed. Mowgli's eyes widened.

"You seem surprised to see me, man cub." Shere Khan said casually as he stepped out of the shadows. "I can't imagine why. I wasn't going to let you get away with what you did to me."

Misty found her voice. "Well, you were going to kill him." she pointed out. "What would you have done? Not defended yourself?"

Khan ignored her and continued to address Mowgli. "You see, you humiliated me. Surely you realize I can't let you live?"

Mowgli gently shoved the girls and Ranjan aside, whispering "Run." They obeyed, albeit reluctantly. But he caught up to them very quickly. He scooped up Ranjan, since he was the slowest, and said "Come on, this way!" They started running. The group wasn't sure if this was going to work, but it was either surviving alone, or dying at the claws of a vicious tiger.

**Let's leave it here for now. I'll update soon if you review!**


	14. Chapter 13: Rescue and Return

**OK, I'm going to continue. Thank you for reviewing, grapejuice101 and dream lighting.**

Eventually, Mowgli told the girls and Ranjan to stay in the ferns while he continued to run. Shanti straightaway went forward. "Ranjan, Misty, stay here. I've gotta go help Mowgli."

"But I wanna help Mowgli too!" Ranjan protested.

"Don't move." Shanti ordered, a much stronger look coming over her face.

"I'm not staying!" Misty said. "Shan, have you gone completely insane? Why would I stay when my boyfriend is going to die if we're not careful?"

Shanti sighed. "I get your point, Mist, but someone needs to take care of Ranjan."

Misty wasn't listening, running off anyway. Shanti gave Ranjan another stern warning about not moving from the place in the ferns, and followed the other girl.

They had to jump over a lava pit, but it wasn't too hard, and they kept running, running, running.

Mowgli was hidden, but Shere Khan was still pacing around, searching for him, so he had to be nearby.

The girls hid behind a pillar, but then they heard another noise.

"Mowgli?" Shanti whispered. But she found herself coming face to face with Baloo. Again.

Misty could only stand by, watching their whispered argument, which was just each of them talking at the same time, Shanti in a mix of her own language and jungle language.

"You!"

"You!"

"What are you doing here? Hey, I'm here because I..."

"I am really not in the mood for this! I spent a night in the jungle, I was attacked by a snake, but I really don't care, cause-"

"I am here to help Mowgli!" they both said at the same time, both in jungle language.

Misty smiled. "OK, we're all on the same side, right?" she said in a low voice.

"I guess."

"I guess so."

Misty nodded. The plan they ended up with was pretty simple. There were three gongs. Baloo would hit one to make Khan think Mowgli was there. Then the girls would hit one of the others. Misty spotted Mowgli peeking out from the third one for a moment, and she was sure he'd hit his own at the time, with that hero complex he seemed to have.

By the time the girls were hitting their gong at the same time, Mowgli and Baloo were doing the same, over and over.

But a chain snapped. A gong fell. And Shere Khan turned, and found the two girls.

"Oh no." Shanti whimpered.

Misty's eyes flashed with shock, anger and fear, and she stepped in front of Shanti protectively.

"Well, isn't this a delightful turn of events?" Shere Khan smirked. He raised his voice so Mowgli was sure to hear. "So, what's it going to be, man cub? You, or your adorable little girlfriends?" He started counting..

"No! Don't!" Mowgli might have been naïve and stubborn, but it was pretty clear that he'd do anything for his friends, and this came through here.

But just as it happened the last time, Shere Khan bounded toward his target. Baloo stopped him. The girls had to make a run for it, along with Mowgli himself.

The three kids made one more jump, across a second pit of lava, but they were hanging by their fingertips. But Khan continued to were on a figurehead, which they climbed up (Mowgli had to pull up Misty, since she was the least competent climber), but then the stone slipped. It fell.

Shere Khan landed on a patch of concrete, but the hollow figurehead landed on him, trapping him inside. As for the other kids, Baloo managed to grab Shanti's hand, while Mowgli hung onto her ankle, and Misty hung on to Mowgli's ankle.

The kids were safe, and Shere Khan was trapped. They were there just long enough to see a vulture flutter down and say "Hello, stripes. You're looking a bit down in the mouth!", followed by him cracking up laughing. Misty giggled, although as they walked out of the mayhem and back to a more peaceful part of the jungle, she couldn't help feeling a little sorry for the tiger. Would he have to listen to those jokes for the rest of his life?

After they were back, Bagheera also joined them, Ranjan in tow. Mowgli and Misty both hugged the panther, and introduced him to Shanti, since she was the only one he hadn't met. Mowgli introduced her as "my best friend from the village", which was nice. But just as that happened, light appeared in the jungle, and voices called the names of the kids.

"There they are!" Shanti exclaimed.

"Papa! Woohoo!" Ranjan yelled.

"Come on, Mowgli!" Shanti cried, but then she stopped.

Misty stood close to Mowgli. "Are you going to stay?" she asked.

"I have to go." Shanti said gently. She seemed to get it, as she took Ranjan's hand and walked away. Mowgli and Misty stood there for a moment.

Finally, Mowgli went back to Baloo and gave him a few final hugs. Misty also went back to say goodbye, but she stood back for most of the time, knowing that the two needed their own goodbye. She'd never been as much of a jungle kid as Mowgli had, after all. But it seemed like it was finally time to go. After a little emotional moment, the two human kids followed Shanti and Ranjan to the village people.

"Hey, wait up!" Mowgli called after the two.

Shanti's eyes lit up and Ranjan ran back, asking "What took you so long?"

Mowgli grinned at both of the girls. "Race you back!"

Shanti called to the people out searching for them. Ranjan's parents hugged him hard, and Shanti's mother hugged Shanti. She hugged Misty, too, but just as that happened, two more people materialized, and Misty heard a voice say "Little sis, you've forgotten us already?"

Misty turned and stared at the familiar faces. Her father and Jacob had finally arrived. She hugged them. "I can't believe it! You guys finally made it!"

Mowgli made amends with his adoptive father, as Ranjan started telling everyone about how he beat up Kaa. Misty took the hands of each member of her family, and went to introduce them.

**OK, just an epilogue to go! Please review!**

**Now, I have one big favour to ask. I've just written a lemon for the cartoon _Recess, _and no matter whether you've seen the show or not, could you please go to my profile, find it, and review it? I'm desperate for feedback, because it's my first-ever lemon, and it's probably really awkward.**


	15. Chapter 14: Mist Leaves the Jungle

**Now, let's continue at last. Sorry for the wait.**

The time machine had apparently been busted soon after Misty had landed in the time. But it was fixed, and in two weeks, it would take the whole family back as it was meant to. In the meantime, they stayed in the village.

Misty still spent most of her time with Mowgli, Shanti and Ranjan, and she regularly sneaked off with Mowgli to play kiss tag.

However, there were a few differences. Mowgli finally seemed to have settled into the village, and had even started feeling like part of his family. But what the parents didn't know was that the four kids, under the pretence of getting water, would cross the river to visit their jungle friends.

Mowgli would carry Ranjan in a pot, Shanti would take a jug, and Misty took a pair of drumming sticks. They only stayed just over the river, not too deep into the jungle. Mowgli and Shanti would drum on a log and Shanti's jug, Misty would hum a starting note, and Ranjan would jump out of the pot to exclaim Mowgli's catchphrase, "Yeah, man!"

Baloo would then come out. Bagheera usually joined them too, and they all just had a bit of fun. Shanti and Ranjan had grown to like Mowgli and Misty's jungle friends a lot.

Once or twice, even Jacob followed the younger kids. He made fun of Misty a lot, though. "You made friends with a bear and a panther?" He said incredulously after he'd heard Misty's story. "You've been hypnotized by a snake, kidnapped by an orangutan and stalked by a tiger? And your boyfriend used to be a feral child? Little sister, you are totally losing the plot."

Mowgli was there at the time, and Misty had just said "Bro, believe it. Just watch this." Misty pulled Mowgli into a heated kiss. A french kiss, with tongues. Mowgli didn't expect it at all. They had done it before, but this kiss was more heated, more passionate, and much longer. They clung together for nearly a whole minute.

Jacob laughed at them. "Mowgli, I think you've captured the heart of my little sister." he said, ruffling the younger boy's already messy hair. "Take care of it."

Misty didn't know whether she really wanted to leave when the time came. She missed her mom a lot, but she knew that she'd miss the friends she'd made here, too. Mowgli especially.

But – and Misty hated realizing this – although she had a strong connection with Mowgli, she wouldn't go as far as to say that she loved him. She liked him a lot, that she couldn't deny, but love was a strong word. She felt she was still a little too young to love, anyway. Thirteen wasn't that old. She tentatively broached the subject with Mowgli one day, and he understood.

"I don't know whether I really love you either." he admitted. "I like you, I really, really like you, but we haven't known each other long enough. I'll miss you, but I can deal with it, as long as you come back to visit sometimes."

But Misty still cared for Mowgli immensely, and she knew she had to do something fun with him before she left. So the night before they were due to leave, they arranged something. At midnight, Misty slipped off to the home of Ranjan's family and sang a note as her signal.

A piece of rope appeared from the top window, and Mowgli, with all his jungle boy grace, slid down it. Both kids giggled nervously, as they took each others hands and ran to the river. They stopped halfway across the stepping stones.

Misty smirked to herself. She had been wearing a shalwar kameez, but when they got there, she took the dress top and pants off, leaving her bikini-esque sports bra and panties. Then she dived into the river.

Mowgli followed, splashing Misty. If she hadn't already been soaked from head to toe, she was then. She giggled and splashed him back, resulting in a free-for-all water fight. It was very hard for them to stop their calls and laughs from drifting back to the village. But since no one turned up, it looked like no one in the village, nor the jungle, could hear.

Eventually, the water fight evolved into dunk-and-kiss tag. It was even more fun. Misty was a strong swimmer, and although Mowgli was more comfortable in the water than she, having lived around it, they were a match for each other.

You could've said that either kid won. Misty dunked Mowgli first, but the minute he came up, he kissed her, and the minute he noticed her melting into his embrace, he dunked her and dived off.

For most of the rest of their time in the water, they were touching. Sometimes they were simply holding hands, but other times, their arms were wrapped around each other. Half the time, they were locked in a kiss.

But they had to get out of the water sooner or later, and they quickly dressed.

The final goodbye was very emotional. Shanti was a bit tearful as she hugged Misty goodbye. "I'm going to miss you so." she murmured.

Misty smiled. "Come on, Shan, you have heaps of friends. I'll miss you too. Don't get too sad over me, OK? Promise." Then she gave Ranjan a hug, and politely said her goodbyes to the adults of the village, thanking Shanti's mother for looking after her before her family got there.

Then she turned to Mowgli. "I'll miss you." she whispered.

"I'll miss you too." Mowgli said. "You will come back, won't you? Sometime."

"I don't know." Misty mumbled, looking at the ground. "I want to, I hope so. Tell everyone in the jungle I said goodbye, OK? I'm going to miss them too."

Mowgli nodded. "OK." He kissed Misty one last time. Then she stepped into the time portal, and was soon speeding forward to her own time period, leaving the twentieth century world behind.

**Well, that's the end. What did you think of it? Please, leave one last little review, that's all I ask.**


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